Reimagined classic ‘Wizard of Oz’ debuts in Kansas City area as theater, ballet

There is no yellow brick road leading the way, but a road trip down several Kansas highways will transport you to the magical land of Oz this August and October.

Think you’ve seen enough “The Wizard of Oz” productions?

Organizers promise you’ve not seen any like these: the first live stage production to incorporate stills and film clips and the debut of a new ballet based on the 1939 American musical fantasy film synonymous with Kansas.

“It’s all things Oz in the Kansas City area this year,” said Mark Edelman, whose last project before retiring after 40 years at the helm of Kansas City’s Theater League has been to develop this live stage version that will run for four performances Aug. 1-4 at the Providence Medical Center Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, just west of Kansas City.

This fall, the Kansas City Ballet will open its 2018-2019 season with Septime Webre’s “The Wizard of Oz,” a new work that resulted from a $1 million-plus collaboration among three professional ballet companies. The ballet makes its world premiere Oct. 12-21 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Kansas City.

Here’s how to turn these reimagined “Oz” productions into road trips for the entire family.

Kansas City, Kansas

Edelman hopes that the outdoor summer performance of “The Wizard of Oz” will become an annual tradition that draws Oz fans from around the world who want to experience seeing the musical live in Kansas.

For those living in the region, he said: “You’ve never seen ‘The Wizard of Oz’ like this. You’ve never seen 50 actors on a stage this big, outdoors with literal scenes from the movie. It’s the images from the film that are so iconic and that create that ‘Oz’ mystique.”

This is the Royal Shakespeare Company’s version of the musical based on the movie. Where it differs is that a typical stage production relies on painted flats and draperies for its scenery. Edelman has licensed from Warner Brothers the use of up to 40 scenes from the MGM movie that will be projected on a 40-by-20-foot video wall at the rear of the stage. You won’t see Judy Garland on the screen, you’ll see recognizable scenes behind the live actors.

The production incorporates still scenes such as the scarecrow’s field where Dorothy and Scarecrow sing “We’re Off to See the Wizard” and the poppy field Dorothy, Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man cross to enter the Emerald City. There also are moving scenes, including the epic special effect of the Wicked Witch of the West skywriting “Surrender Dorothy.”

Besides wanting to weave these unforgettable images into an outdoor production, Edelman said the team also wanted to ensure brightly projected scenery for a start time of 8 p.m. in August.

“This seemed to be the perfect marriage of technology and theater,” he said. “You’re seeing more and more of the video walls as part of the scenery on Broadway shows. That allows the designers to continue to change, project and even animate the scenery in ways they can’t if it’s a painted drop.”

This production is not part of the Theater League’s regular schedule (this is the same Theater League organization that brings traveling Broadway shows to Wichita each winter). Theater League worked with Kansas City-based Spinning Tree Theatre and cast local and regional performers. In conjunction with the nonprofit Variety KC, they are using developmentally challenged youths as extras.

Providence Medical Center Amphitheater seats about 18,000, including approximately 3,100 reserved seats.

Tickets for reserved seats are $20 per adult; $10 for children 12 and under. Unreserved lawn seating is $40 for four people. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. and the performance starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, Aug. 1-4. A Sunday performance is planned only as a rain date. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster by visiting www.wizardofozkc.com.

The Kansas City Kansas Convention and Visitors Bureau created a Summer of Oz marketing campaign around what it believes is the first professional musical theater production in Wyandotte County. The summer schedule at the amphitheater formerly known as Sandstone is typically all concerts.

As the largest non-arena venue for performing arts in Kansas, Edelman said, he felt “it seemed like an appropriate place for a show whose title is so tied to Kansas and with the proximity of Village West and all the tourist attractions there. It’s a nice fit for an area that I believe has become the most visited tourist attraction in the state of Kansas. We’re adding a cultural and performing arts program to that center of activity.”

About two miles from the amphitheater, the Village West development is home to shopping, dining and entertainment at Legends Outlets Kansas City; Children’s Mercy Park, the home of Sporting Kansas City soccer; CommunityAmerica Ballpark, where the Kansas City T-Bones independent baseball team plays; Kansas Speedway; Hollywood Casino; and several hotels.

A handful of these permanent attractions – at Village West and throughout Wyandotte County – have created temporary Oz-themed exhibits or promotions. Among them: Grinter Place State Historical Site, Wyandotte County Museum, Strawberry Hill Museum & Cultural Center, Kansas City Kansas Public Libraries, Final Cut Steakhouse at Hollywood Casino and Cider Hill Family Orchard.

Next to the amphitheater, the National Agricultural Center & Hall of Fame is presenting daytime programming Aug. 2-4. The center’s “Oz Comes to Kansas” allows visitors to experience a farm town similar to what Dorothy Gale would have experienced while living on her family’s Kansas farm.

Pet farm animals, ride a train, take photos with characters from the musical, watch a puppet version of “The Wizard of Oz,” participate in crafts and activities, and see one of the largest private collections of Oz memorabilia. Admission is $8 adults, $4 ages 2-12; food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Ballet, Colorado Ballet and Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet are collaborating on a new full-length “The Wizard of Oz” ballet, a creation of choreographer Septime Webre and composer Matthew Pierce. It will premiere with 10 performances from Oct. 12-21 in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Webre and Pierce created “Alice (in Wonderland),” a work that debuted in 2014 in Kansas City and was well-received for its blend of classic and reimagined storytelling. With “Oz,” Webre said he took inspiration from the book as well as the movie but wanted to meet the audience’s expectations for the story they know and love in a way that they had not yet imagined.

“I think what’s amazing about ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is that it has so many elements that are attractive to children, so the goal is for it to be absolutely amazing for kids of all ages but also the sophisticated music, virtuosic dancing and some sly bits will make it a really engaging work for adults as well,” Webre said in Kansas City Ballet’s promotional video.

The Kansas City Symphony conducted by Ramona Pansegrau will perform the all-new music. The ballet also features original costumes, sets, projections and special effects – an expense only possible through collaboration.

“We share equally in the cost of making the production (which is in excess of $1,000,000) but the arrangement allows 100 percent of the box office revenue in each of our communities to be retained by the home company,” Kansas City Ballet Executive Director Jeffrey J. Bentley said in a release. “It may well become the wave of the future since not-for-profit arts organizations are always looking to reduce costs while adding to the audience experience.”

Three-show ballet subscriptions are currently on sale; individual tickets go on sale at 6 a.m. Aug. 13. There are five ticket tiers ranging from $34 to $134 plus fees, and they can be purchased through Kansas City Ballet at kcballet.org. Sales are expected to be strong for “Oz,” and the lowest priced tiers likely will sell out the first day. The box office advises to set up an account on the ballet website prior to Aug. 13. For more information, contact the Kansas City Ballet ticket office at 816-931-8993.

While there are no special events to coincide with the ballet, road trippers from the Wichita area could take a northern route in order to make a side trip to Wamego, Kan., home of Oz Museum. The museum opened 15 years ago and is about 10 miles north of Interstate 70 (exit 328).

The museum has many rare artifacts from the 1939 movie but the collection of more than 2,000 items covers all things “Oz,” from first edition L. Frank Baum books to the most current collectible pieces. Admission is $9 adults, $7 ages 3-12; military and student discounts available. In October, its hours will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.

“The Wizard of Oz”

Theater production

“The Wizard of Oz” Theater League live production incorporating scenes from the 1939 movie.

When: Aug. 1-4, Providence Medical Center Amphitheater, Bonner Springs, Kan.,

More Information: wizardofozKC.com, Summer of Oz promotions, Wyandotte, Kan., visitkansascityks.com/summerofoz

Ballet

“The Wizard of Oz” Kansas City Ballet all-new production

When: Oct. 12-21, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, Mo.,

More information: kcballet.org Oz Museum, Wamego, Kan., ozmuseum.com

This story was originally published July 23, 2018 at 11:36 AM.